A federal grand jury in Greenville, South Carolina indicted Kenneth Ojua (a/k/a Diplomat “Jeffrey Grant”) – along with “Barrister Adewale Davis” and 4 other alleged co-conspirators in an international internet fraud ring.

Ojua was arraigned in Greenville and federal Magistrate William Catoe ordered him held without bond pending additional hearings.

On May 2, 2010, Dateline told the story of a Connecticut woman who had been cheated out of her life savings by internet scammers. Dateline’s Chris Hansen launched a year-long investigation aimed at luring some of her scammers out of the shadows. Dateline’s investigation finally paid off when Hansen met face-to-face with Ojua in a Greenville hotel room.

During the meeting Ojua tried to collect $37,600 dollars to pay storage fees for a trunk supposedly held in an underground vault and containing the woman’s multi-million dollar inheritance. The meeting was documented by Dateline’s hidden cameras.

Ojua was arrested by Greenville city police shortly after the meeting — but denied any wrongdoing. The U.S. Secret Service then launched its own investigation.

CHRIS HANSEN: Good evening, and welcome DATELINE. I’m Chris Hansen. If you’ve seen any of our earlier stories about Internet scammers, you probably thought to yourself, ‘That could never happen to me.’ Well, the woman you’ll meet tonight knew all about e-mail cons, but these guys are so good at what they do, she still fell for their scam and lost her life savings. Her troubles started with a simple e-mail, and she’s not alone.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But to get it, some people wind up paying a fortune. Tonight, our story starts in Connecticut where this woman got one of those e-mails. We’ve agreed to use only her first name, Shireen.

(E-mail; stacks of money; Shireen typing at computer)

SHIREEN: When I received the e-mail, the man, he claimed to be a barrister in Nigeria.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And before she realized it, she was caught up in a sophisticated scheme that stole her life savings, but she felt so foolish, she was reluctant to tell anyone.

(Shireen at computer; send button; e-mail; Shireen on porch)

SHIREEN: I was almost, you know, like crying and everything, and I was just taking money out from my IRA.

HANSEN: How hard was it for you, Shireen, to actually go to the police?

SHIREEN: Very hard.

Deputy Chief GARY MacNAMARA: I’m proud of her for coming forward. I don’t know whether I would be able to come forward and face family members and friends to say, ‘I fell for this.’

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Gary MacNamara, of the Fairfield, Connecticut police, says when his department got the case, he could hardly believe it.

HANSEN: ...in an affluent community with family and still she gets taken by these guys?

Deputy Chief MacNAMARA: Yeah. We’re all vulnerable when it comes to hope.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Thousands of people fall for similar scams, but they rarely admit it. The scams can fool people you’d think would be too smart to be taken in, but Sergeant James Perez says that’s because the thieves are surprisingly sophisticated and their scams may not be very obvious at the start.

(People walking on street; e-mails; James Perez at computer)

Sergeant JAMES PEREZ: Most of the victims are well educated. We’re talking about professors, doctors. It runs the whole gamut.

HANSEN: How do they fall for these scams?

Sgt. PEREZ: Well, you know, these scammers, these cybercriminals, are extremely intelligent in psychological warfare. Oftentimes, they’re not going to ask for money right away. They’re going to play the game and they’re going to psychologically stroke her for as much as they can before they actually start the attack.

HANSEN: Like an online sexual predator grooms a potential target.

Sgt. PEREZ: Absolutely. I like to say attack, because that’s truly what it is.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And Shireen says there’s something else that made the barrister’s story believable, that fortune was from oil.

(Oil pump)

SHIREEN: He said that he had a client die and he worked in a Chevron Oil company in Lagos, Nigeria.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) That made some sense to Shireen, because she knew there were engineers in her extended family. She was born in Bangladesh, but she’s lived her in the United States for most of her adult life, and she knew she had relatives all over the world, including some who worked in the oil industry.

(Shireen and Hansen walking on porch; oil pump)

HANSEN: So you had a number of engineers in your family?

SHIREEN: Yes.

HANSEN: And your thought process was, ‘Maybe one of my relatives had been working over there at some point.’

Man #2: (As Davis) “You, as the beneficiary, will need to send the sum of $2,150 for the office duty stamp.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) The fees are designed little by little to lure people in.

(E-mail)

Sgt. PEREZ: She’s completely invested now into this process. She can’t just turn away and walk away because now she loses that money. So in a way they have her on the hook now.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And boy, did they.

(Shireen at computer)

Unidentified Woman #3: (As banker) “From UBS Warburg. Attention:

Beneficiary.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) To convince Shireen it was all real, the scammers poured it on, sending her official-looking e-mails, not just from the lawyer but from banks and government officials. And there was more. They were sending her these forms in color with seals and official-looking stamps, all telling the same story about her multimillion-dollar inheritance.

(E-mails; documents)

SHIREEN: So I kind of started believing in him.

Sgt. PEREZ: Here we have a document, a very real-looking document that’s basically a fund release order.

Sgt. PEREZ: Absolutely. It lists her as the beneficiary. These are very convincing documents.

HANSEN: “Foreign Operations Department, Lagos, Nigeria. The meeting of the board of directors held on March 7, 2008.” And it basically lays out this whole $15 million transfer.

Sgt. PEREZ: Of course she’s elated because she is well on her way to get her fortune, and of course, she’s vested—she’s invested in it already. She has to continue.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) By now Shireen not only has sent money, she’s even made a trip to London to meet face to face with people she thought were bankers handling her inheritance. She gave them another $10,000, hoping it was the final fee, and before long an e-mail from the bank with good news.

(Shireen on porch; airplane; London streets, buildings and bridge)

Woman #3: (As banker) “Dear Madam, your total sum of US $15 million is expected in your account today.”

Sgt. PEREZ: At this point the congratulatory letters are coming in, and everyone’s signing off. Everything appears like it’s going exactly the way it should be.

HANSEN: She’s so close.

Sgt. PEREZ: She’s so close. She could almost see the money. She can smell it, she can taste it in her bank account.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And guess what? They’re going to cost a bundle. Crooks are moving in for the big score.

(Money; person typing on keyboard)

Sgt. PEREZ: Now these two items, of course, aren’t going to cost a few thousand. It comes to a total of $165,000.

HANSEN: A hundred and sixty-five dollars?

Sgt. PEREZ: Just to be able to reach out and grab the money, because it’s right there.

HANSEN: Little by little, 300, 500, 1700, 15,000, 25,000, and now this is the big score.

Sgt. PEREZ: This is it.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) In the end, Shireen lost her life savings, more than $200,000, and chances are she’ll never get a dime of it back. But believe it or not, the scammers still think they’ve got Shireen on the hook for even more. What they don’t know is that she’s agreed to let DATELINE step in...

(Shireen in kitchen; e-mail; people working on computers; person typing on keyboard)

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) Nice to see you. Come on up.

(Voiceover) ...and try to turn the tables. We start by setting a trap of our own.

HANSEN: (Speaking on phone) I need to do a face-to-face meeting before I send anybody money.

(Voiceover) But guess who may spoil the party? When Follow the Money continues.

Sgt. PEREZ: Make no mistake about it, we are at war.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Sergeant James Perez has seen it firsthand.

(Perez walking; Perez in office)

Sgt. PEREZ: We are at war with a faceless enemy, an invisible enemy that has the innate ability to get right into the living room, right into the very core of our country and try and scam people, and they’re doing it at a record rate.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) He’s been investigating the case of a Connecticut woman who lost her live savings.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) She didn’t realize she was being conned until it was too late.

(Shireen on porch; e-mail)

HANSEN: Why didn’t you just walk away from it?

SHIREEN: I know. I was going to. And then they kept saying that the--‘See, you already invested so much money.’

HANSEN: And you figured, ‘I’m into it this far.’

SHIREEN: Yes, exactly.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) After Shireen contacted local police, they contacted federal authorities. But international scams over the Internet are tough to prosecute, so Shireen asked DATELINE to help. Could we crack the case and lure the thieves out from behind their computer keyboards into plain sight?

(Fairfield Police station; Perez at desk; Shireen; people working on computers)

HANSEN: (Voiceover) The first step, taking over her e-mail. Remember, the thieves have already taken more than $200,000 from Shireen, but it doesn’t take long to discover their greed has no limit. They want even more.

Man #2: (As Davis) “Dear Shireen, get the balance of $5,000 before the end of this month.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Authorities say the thieves are master manipulators who know they almost never get caught.

(Person typing at computer)

Deputy Chief MacNAMARA: It goes to show you how bold and how confident they are that they’re not going to be arrested for it.

HANSEN: There’s always an excuse.

SHIREEN: Always an excuse.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But we’re about to turn the tables. Our chance comes when the thieves send this e-mail saying the money transfer is finally ready, but the bank is asking for more money than ever before.

(Shireen and Hansen at computer; vault door opening)

Man #2: (As Davis) “Dear Shireen, they say the only fee they will be collecting is the 10 percent of the $15 million.”

HANSEN: Ten percent, that’s a staggering fee, $1.5 million. But remember, DATELINE is answering the e-mails now and we say we’ll pay the up-front money on one condition, the scammers have to meet me face to face.

(Speaking on phone) Yes, is this Barrister Davis?

(Voiceover) I’m posing as a businessman who supposedly loaning Shireen the million dollars she needs to close the deal. At first the thieves refuse to meet, but we keep dangling the offer to pay that million dollar fee if only I can meet them in person.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And that’s where they finally agreed to meet me. DATELINE rents a suite at a prominent hotel and we start wiring it with hidden cameras; but there’s a last minute problem, apparently the bankers haven’t arrived yet.

HANSEN: (Speaking on phone) Listen to me, Mr. Davis, you need to listen to me. If the bank is going to take a fee of more than $1 million, they can certainly afford to get somebody here for a meeting tomorrow afternoon.

(Voiceover) Shireen even called.

(Shireen)

Unidentified Man #4: (Speaking on phone) Hello.

SHIREEN: (Speaking on phone) Hello. Is that Mr. Davis?

HANSEN: (Voiceover) All but begging the barrister. Without a face-to-face meeting, she says she has no hope of raising the money.

(Shireen speaking on phone; phone; Shireen speaking on phone)

SHIREEN: (Speaking on phone) And then I have now my last hope, miss—my friend Mr. Chris has been helping—willing to help me, but he wants to meet someone in person.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But while we’re upstairs making those calls, our hotel is being invaded by reporters and photographers, even from our own network.

MEREDITH VIEIRA reporting: (“Today”) And we’re going to be talking a lot this morning about Susan Boyle.

Unidentified Man #5: (“Britain’s Got Talent”) Susan Boyle!

HANSEN: (Voiceover) They’re here covering that British singing sensation Susan Boyle. It turns out we’d scheduled our meeting right before the finals of “Britain’s Got Talent” and our hotel was crawling with reporters. Not exactly how scammers like to be greeted.

(Clips from “Britain’s Got Talent”)

HANSEN: (Speaking on phone) It’s going to be terrible for me to disappoint Shireen.

Man #4: (Speaking on phone) Yeah.

HANSEN: (Speaking on phone) But we either have to meet face to face or this deal is just not going to happen.

(Voiceover) We may never know if it was the media frenzy or something else that scared them off, but in the end, Barrister Davis backs out, leaving Shireen angry and disappointed.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But we’re a long way from throwing in the towel and the trail is about to lead to a place we never expected. Coming up, Shireen’s first brush with her $15 million inheritance. But why was this money funny?

HANSEN: (Speaking on phone) We either have to meet face to face or this deal is just not going to happen and it’s not worth us talking anymore.

(Voiceover) ...e-mails show that his ring of thieves still wants to squeeze more money out of Shireen.

(Person typing on computer)

Man #2: (As Davis) “To Shireen, the bank told me that you have to pay more fees.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And DATELINE hasn’t given up either. We’ve taken over Shireen’s e-mail and we’re still trying to lure the thieves into a face-to-face meeting. So we write back that Shireen has found a new friend with lots of money.

(Hansen and Shireen at computer; e-mail being typed; person typing at computer)

Woman #4: (As Shireen) “Mr. Davis, I spoke with my friend today and he says he will definitely loan me the money.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) The barrister takes the bait again, agreeing to a face-to-face meeting.

(E-mail)

Man #4: (As Barrister Davis) “To Shireen, you will meet with the diplomats.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But where will this meeting be? Over the years we’ve tracked the Internet thieves all over the world, to Africa, to London, to Amsterdam, even to Switzerland.

HANSEN: (Previous scam investigation) Here’s what I suspect. I suspect that you’re part of a scam.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Authorities say most Internet crimes are based overseas, and they’re on the rise.

(Cameras entering hotel room; Hansen speaking with man)

HANSEN: (Previous scam investigation) Did you or did you not lie to me?

Unidentified Man #6: (Previous scam investigation) I lied to you.

HANSEN: (Previous scam investigation) OK.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) At the government’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the number of complaints is up more than 20 percent in just a year, and the FBI estimates that last year e-mail attacks bilked Americans out of more than half a billion dollars.

Man #2: (As Davis) “To Shireen, the diplomats will prepare and move your funds to South Carolina for delivery.”

HANSEN: (Voiceover) South Carolina. This ring of thieves apparently is brazen enough to operate right here at home on US soil. The barrister tells us to contact a man he calls a diplomat, somebody going by the name of Jeffrey Grant, to work out the details.

(Greenville sign; Greenville street; e-mail; phone)

Mr. KENNETH OJUA: (Speaking on phone) Yes.

HANSEN: (Speaking on phone) Yes, Mr. Grant, I’m calling for Shireen.

(Voiceover) We don’t want to let Shireen meet the thieves alone, and so we make up a story that she’s been in the hospital. A DATELINE producer is pretending to be a relative who will be helping her with the trip.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Shortly after our phone call, the so-called diplomat Jeffrey Grant arrives at our hotel in Greenville, South Carolina. We’ve rented a room on the fifth floor and our hidden cameras will be recording his every word. You’re about to see something rarely captured, even by federal authorities, an international Internet crime ring at work right here in the United States.

(Ojua walking in hotel; Ojua in elevator; Shireen and Hansen in hotel suite)

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) Mr. Grant, this is Shireen.

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) How are you?

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Just moments earlier, Barrister Davis had called, all the way from Nigeria, to check how the deal was progressing.

(Ojua and Shireen in hotel suite)

SHIREEN: (Hidden camera videotape) I just got a call from Mr. Davis.

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) Mm-hmm.

SHIREEN: (Hidden camera videotape) And he said that as soon as you come here to give him a call.

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) OK.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Just as we suspected, the scammers seem to be part of a sophisticated overseas network.

(Voiceover) And when he comes back, we’re hoping to get a look at one of the crooks’ favorite tricks. Remember, before DATELINE ever got involved, Shireen had flown to London in hopes of claiming her money. During that trip she met with people she thought were bankers and lawyers, and she remembers they gave her a sneak peek at what they said was her fortune.

(Ojua in elevator; airplane; London at night; money)

SHIREEN: They brought a big trunk.

HANSEN: They open it up. What do you see?

SHIREEN: And it was sort of like bundles of money or whatever. They all like covered with black.

HANSEN: As apparently they had to dye it black to smuggle it out of Africa.

Sgt. PEREZ: Exactly. And they explain to her that this money now has to be reconverted into usable money, and the only way to do that is to dip it into this very extremely expensive chemical in order to make the money legal so that you can use it.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Sergeant Perez says most of the so-called money is just plain black paper. But in a magic truck fit for Houdini, he showed us how the thieves convinced Shireen that the money was real, by washing a couple of select bills before her very eyes.

(Perez opening brief case; Perez cleaning money)

SHIREEN: And he cleaned two bills.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And when he cleaned those bills, what was revealed?

Sgt. PEREZ: They hand her the money so that she can, for the first time, see and feel the money in her hands. And they go so far as to telling her, ‘Hey, listen. You don’t have to take our word for it. Take this money and go out to the store and go spend it.’ So that they can really convince her that this money is so real and it’s all right there.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Of course, it’s all a trick to get more money. The scammers use simple supplies, Elmers Glue and some iodine to put a black coating on a couple of real bills. After it dries, the black is easy to wash out. But the thieves say they’re using special chemicals and they’re very expensive, so it’s another big fee to pay before you can actually spend your fortune. When we called Mr. Grant earlier to set up the meeting, we asked about the chemicals.

(Money being dyed; money being washed; pill being crushed; chemicals being put into water; water being swished in cup; money being cleaned; phone)

HANSEN: (Voiceover) So is that black money trick what the diplomat has up his sleeve? Coming up, Shireen is told her inheritance is just a car ride away, packed in a trunk, stored in an underground vault.

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) I mean, do you think it’s filled with money? Do you think it’s filled with gold? Do you think it’s filled with valuables or what?

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) So do you want me to find out?

HANSEN: (Voiceover) When Follow the Money continues.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) When you’ve been a victim of a scam, it’s embarrassing.

(Shireen at computer)

Sgt. PEREZ: Part of the problem with investigating these crimes is that most victims will never come forward. They’re just too embarrassed. They do not want to let their families know. And these scammers realize this and they use that very fear against them.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But Shireen, the Connecticut woman who lost nearly a quarter of a million dollars in an Internet scam, not only was brave enough to tell police, now she’s helping DATELINE as we try to turn the tables on her scammer.

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) Is there going to be more money that...

HANSEN: (Voiceover) ...who is supposed to be delivering Shireen’s $15 million inheritance. To our surprise, the meeting is happening right here in the US, in a hotel room we rented in Greenville, South Carolina. It seems as if Mr. Grant is a part of a ring of Internet thieves, and he’s operating right here in America. But after a few minutes, he told us he had to leave to pick up some forms and, of course, the huge pile of cash they’d been promising Shireen for so long.

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) And you’ll be able to bring the money actually up here?

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) Yeah.

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) OK.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) When he returns, we’re wondering if he’s going to try to pull the same black money trick Shireen saw before in London. But Mr. Grant is gone for more than two hours, and I’m beginning to worry he might be on to us, so I call just to make sure he’s coming back.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But we’re in for another surprise. When he hears it’s me, Mr. Grant quickly puts a woman on the phone. She says she’s from a local storage company that’s been protecting a mysterious shipment.

(Hansen speaking on phone)

Unidentified Woman #5: (Speaking on phone) We just know that it’s heavy and it’s stored if one of the underground vaults.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Of course, we’re supposed to think the container holds Shireen’s multimillion-dollar inheritance, but what this is all leading up to is yet another attempt to dip into Shireen’s pocketbook. Before we can even see the mysterious shipment, the woman says we’ll need to give more cash to Mr. Grant, $37,600 to be exact, supposedly so he can pay the storage fees.

HANSEN: I’ll bet you dinner at your favorite restaurant there is no container. But I think we have the local ring here.

(Voiceover) Turns out we haven’t been made at all. In fact, the scammers apparently think they can take us for even more money.

(Ojua entering hotel suite)

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) You want some coffee?

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Sure enough, that afternoon Mr. Grant is back at our hotel to collect $37,000. But before we hand over the cash, I have a few questions, like confirming the exact amount of money we need to pay.

(Ojua, Hansen and Shireen in hotel suite)

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) The amount that I have to give you now for Shireen is 37,600.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Then there’s the question of what’s supposed to be in that container. Remember, Shireen has been promised $15 million, but remarkably Mr. Grant claims he doesn’t know what’s in the mysterious trunk.

(Ojua, Hansen and Shireen in hotel suite)

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) Do you think it’s filled with money? Do you think it’s filled with gold? Do you think it’s filled with valuables or what?

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) So do you want me to find out?

HANSEN: (Voiceover) In fact, this so-called diplomat says he can’t even give us a receipt for the tens of thousands of dollars we’re about to hand over in return for Shireen’s supposed fortune.

(Ojua, Hansen and Shireen in hotel suite)

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) Do you have any paperwork for us or a receipt of some sort or...

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) You mean for them?

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) For the money that you want us to give you now. I mean, do you have a receipt with you or?

HANSEN: (Voiceover) If there was ever any doubt this was part of a scam to take even more money from a woman who’s already lost her life savings, there’s certainly none now. There’s no way this is a legitimate deal, so it’s about time for me to tell Mr. Grant who I really am.

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) So after I give you the money, you go to the storage facility.

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) Yeah.

HANSEN: (Hidden camera videotape) You pay them. They give you the documentation. They release this crate.

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) Yeah.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) We’re face to face with a so-called diplomat, Jeffrey Grant. He says he’s going to bring us a mysterious crate that’s supposedly being held in a special underground vault in Greenville, South Carolina.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Shireen has been helping DATELINE for nearly a year, trying to lure one of the thieves out of the shadows. Finally, it’s time to turn the tables on the man who’s ready to take even more of her money.

(Shireen and Hansen in hotel suite; Ojua, Hansen and Shireen in hotel suite)

HANSEN: Well, Mr. Grant, there’s something you need to know.

Mr. OJUA: Yeah.

HANSEN: I’m Chris Hansen with DATELINE NBC, and we’ve been taking a look at this group that you’re apparently affiliated with, a group that has taken $200,000 of her money.

HANSEN: Your driver’s license, your passport. I mean, you told me that you were Jeffrey Grant from South Africa, and the very least you can do is prove that. Otherwise, I have no reason to believe you.

Mr. OJUA: Sir, you asked me a question and I gave your answer. You offered me money. I told you, you don’t owe me any money.

HANSEN: Well, but that’s not what you said before. Now that you’re in trouble.

Mr. OJUA: I’m not in trouble.

HANSEN: Well, I think you are in trouble, because you’re affiliated with a group of people who have been pulling scams.

(Voiceover) But now he’s not only denying he’s part of a scam, he’s saying he never used the name Jeffrey Grant.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) It’s a remarkable lapse in memory. He obviously doesn’t know we’ve been recording his every word. Remember when he first walked into our hotel room and Barrister Davis wanted him to call?

(Hansen and Ojua in hotel suite; TV monitors; Ojua sitting on couch)

SHIREEN: (Hidden camera videotape) I just got a call from Mr. Davis.

Mr. OJUA: (Hidden camera videotape) Mm-hmm.

SHIREEN: (Hidden camera videotape) And he said that as soon as you come here to give him a call.

HANSEN: What you’re saying doesn’t make sense in that Barrister Davis is the one who gave us your information. So how would he get that information if you don’t know him? Explain that to me.

Mr. OJUA: Listen, I will explain myself to you. I...

HANSEN: Not very well and not truthfully.

Mr. OJUA: Well, what...

HANSEN: (Voiceover) And if you’re thinking it can’t get any stranger, just listen as “Mr. Whoever-He-Is” begins to blame Shireen for the entire scam, saying she’s trying to take money she doesn’t deserve from poor Africans.

(Ojua shaking finger; Shireen; African street)

Mr. OJUA: I want to know exactly because if there’s poverty in Africa, why is it keep going over and over people getting poor? Because people are ripping Africans off, right?

Mr. OJUA: That’s what I’m telling you. I don’t—I don’t do no e-mail. I don’t take money from nobody. If this woman is right here, telling you she cheated with people overseas for two years or whatever—tell the truth. Why are you doing that?

HANSEN: She thought she as going to make money on the deal.

Mr. OJUA: You’re telling me that I’m ripping her off. And I’m telling you she was ripping people off overseas.

HANSEN: What, she’s ripping people off now?

Mr. OJUA: Of course. That’s what it is...

HANSEN: Oh, that’s outrageous.

(Voiceover) No matter what we ask, he won’t admit a thing.

Ojua; Hansen and Ojua in hotel suite)

HANSEN: Look, we can go round and round in this forever, but the reality is we were given your number, you responded to our calls, and you set up a deal in which we were suppose to give you $37,600...

We’re placing you under arrest at this time. An investigator will help you...

HANSEN: (Voiceover) We had told police in Connecticut about our meeting and they tipped off authorities in South Carolina. Greenville police had been monitoring the meeting on their own from an adjoining room. The so-called diplomat is under arrest, but we’ve only started to scratch the surface of just how widespread this crime ring really is, and how profitable.

(Ojua being arrested by police officers; e-mail; stacks of money)

Detective DAVE WINER: (Looking at records) Twenty-three hundred from this person, 5,000 from this person, 6,000 from this person. When I added it up, about $2.3 million.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) When Follow the Money continues.

HANSEN: Do you want to know what I think? I think that you’re tied into a group from Nigeria...

Mr. OJUA: No, I was not.

HANSEN: ...that trades names and identities of vulnerable women like her, and men, and you scam them. That’s what I think you do.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But as he leaves our hotel room, the man known as diplomat Jeffrey Grant is arrested and charged with fraud by city police in Greenville, South Carolina. They were tipped off to our meeting by the police in Connecticut who originally launched the investigation.

(Police arresting Ojua; Fairfield Police sign)

Deputy Chief MacNAMARA: They finally was able to contact somebody who really realized that this was going to be a significant arrest.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) But the job of determining just who the so-called diplomat really is and how far his crime ring stretches is just beginning.

(Ojua and police officers walking; photo of Ojua)

Detective RICK FLOYD: We had criminal history here in Greenville that dates back to 1996.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Detective Rick Floyd has discovered his real name is Kenneth Ojua. Originally from Nigeria, he’s lived in the United States for 14 years, and it turns out this isn’t the first time he’s been arrested. In fact, records show that three years ago, in the bar at that same Hyatt hotel where we met him, Kenneth Ojua allegedly tried a similar scam on a doctor from Texas. DATELINE watched as an investigator from the local sheriff’s department opened the evidence they seized in that case three years ago.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Including a logbook from Ojua’s apartment listing hundreds of potential victims from all over the country, a possible clue on how thieves stay so organized when communicating all over the world.

HANSEN: (Voiceover) The detective says he tried to convince federal authorities to take the multimillion-dollar case, but they declined, even though Ojua’s logbooks contained detailed entries, names of the scammers overseas, names of US victims, the fortune they’d been promised, even the fake names Ojua was supposed to use when he met them.

(Winer showing logbook to Hansen; logbook entries)

HANSEN: (Voiceover) Meanwhile, the Texas doctor who had been ripped off was getting cold feet about testifying, so local prosecutors cut a deal with the suspect Kenneth Ojua. He paid the doctor back and the charges were dropped. In other words, he walked, free to try to rip off other people like Shireen.

HANSEN: What do you say to people who say, ‘This could never happen to me.

I’m too smart for it.’

Deputy Chief MacNAMARA: We’re not as smart as we think we are when it comes to human emotions, and I would caution you that even the best of us be—can become victims.

(Voiceover) And they’re sometimes better at what they do than we are at what we do.

(Ojua and police officers walking)

HANSEN: Federal agents aren’t saying anything publicly about their investigation, but the challenge will be trying to track down the members of the crime ring, like Barrister Davis, who are based overseas.

Dateline wires the home of a volunteer, Jenny, from top to bottom with hidden cameras. Then she called repairmen to her house for a simple problem we created as a test with Jenny's pool. NBC's Chris Hansen reports.